Katy Milkman

It's so interesting. I do think that even when things are good, we can have these kinds of fresh start experiences that shape us in positive ways. I'll give you an example. I had a phone call. I was driving here from Santa Barbara this morning. I had a phone call with a friend who just got tenure. And he is thinking big. His life is great. Tenure is a great event.

It's so interesting. I do think that even when things are good, we can have these kinds of fresh start experiences that shape us in positive ways. I'll give you an example. I had a phone call. I was driving here from Santa Barbara this morning. I had a phone call with a friend who just got tenure. And he is thinking big. His life is great. Tenure is a great event.

Oh, yeah. Fair enough. Not everyone is part of my weird world.

Oh, yeah. Fair enough. Not everyone is part of my weird world.

Yes. Okay. So in academia, if you're a professor, this is like the be all and end all of your career. You're working really hard. You get your PhD. You get your assistant professor job. You work really hard. You write a bunch of papers. You teach a bunch of classes.

Yes. Okay. So in academia, if you're a professor, this is like the be all and end all of your career. You're working really hard. You get your PhD. You get your assistant professor job. You work really hard. You write a bunch of papers. You teach a bunch of classes.

And if your university says, you know, you're doing great, if you're good enough, they bestow upon you tenure, which means permanent job. Job security basically can't be fired unless you do something illegal. And they're saying, like, you have now total academic freedom. We're no longer going to be evaluating you.

And if your university says, you know, you're doing great, if you're good enough, they bestow upon you tenure, which means permanent job. Job security basically can't be fired unless you do something illegal. And they're saying, like, you have now total academic freedom. We're no longer going to be evaluating you.

We trust you. And it's like this bizarre institutions created to help people take risks. But it is a big moment in the life of an academic when they get to that milestone. It's like there's nowhere else to go. You've climbed to the top of the mountain. And so it's really exciting. It often happens to people around their 40s, sort of like midlife, when you might already be having some

We trust you. And it's like this bizarre institutions created to help people take risks. But it is a big moment in the life of an academic when they get to that milestone. It's like there's nowhere else to go. You've climbed to the top of the mountain. And so it's really exciting. It often happens to people around their 40s, sort of like midlife, when you might already be having some

introspection going on about like, why am I here? What's my purpose? So a lot of academics step back at that moment and think, why do I want to do now? What do I want to do next? I've been climbing and climbing to this point. And I was having this conversation with a friend on the drive here who had reached that point and was having that exact, okay, what's next? And

introspection going on about like, why am I here? What's my purpose? So a lot of academics step back at that moment and think, why do I want to do now? What do I want to do next? I've been climbing and climbing to this point. And I was having this conversation with a friend on the drive here who had reached that point and was having that exact, okay, what's next? And

wanted to talk about writing a book since I'd written a book. And like, what is that? Like he thinks that might be the next big adventure for him, but nothing is wrong. Everything is right. It's just that he reached a moment. He reached an achievement. He, he got to the top of a mountain and looked around and realized, okay, I've climbed to my goal and it's time to figure out what the next one is.

wanted to talk about writing a book since I'd written a book. And like, what is that? Like he thinks that might be the next big adventure for him, but nothing is wrong. Everything is right. It's just that he reached a moment. He reached an achievement. He, he got to the top of a mountain and looked around and realized, okay, I've climbed to my goal and it's time to figure out what the next one is.

And I think that can be a fresh start too. That's positive.

And I think that can be a fresh start too. That's positive.

It's a fantastic question. I'm going to give you a somewhat frustrating answer. It frustrates me. I don't feel like academic research has wrapped its arms around identity the way I would like it to because I think it is unquestionably so important, right? The labels. we put on ourselves obviously matter, but I feel like we don't know nearly as much as we should.

It's a fantastic question. I'm going to give you a somewhat frustrating answer. It frustrates me. I don't feel like academic research has wrapped its arms around identity the way I would like it to because I think it is unquestionably so important, right? The labels. we put on ourselves obviously matter, but I feel like we don't know nearly as much as we should.

It's one of the things I'm most interested to study. It's your next book. Maybe, maybe. We know a little. One of the things I think is most relevant to the way I think about identity is mindset, which is it's different than identity, but a mindset can come with or can be triggered by an identity.

It's one of the things I'm most interested to study. It's your next book. Maybe, maybe. We know a little. One of the things I think is most relevant to the way I think about identity is mindset, which is it's different than identity, but a mindset can come with or can be triggered by an identity.